Book : The Great Leveler Violence And The History Of...

-Titulo Original : The Great Leveler Violence And The History Of Inequality From The Stone Age To The Twenty-first Century (the Princeton Economic History Of The Western World, 114)

-Fabricante :

Princeton University Press

-Descripcion Original:

Are mass violence and catastrophes the only forces that can seriously decrease economic inequality? To judge by thousands of years of history, the answer is yes. Tracing the global history of inequality from the Stone Age to today, Walter Scheidel shows that it never dies peacefully. The Great Leveler is the first book to chart the crucial role of violent shocks in reducing inequality over the full sweep of human history around the world. The “Four Horsemen” of leveling mass-mobilization warfare, transformative revolutions, state collapse, and catastrophic plagues have repeatedly destroyed the fortunes of the rich. Today, the violence that reduced inequality in the past seems to have diminished, and that is a good thing. But it casts serious doubt on the prospects for a more equal future. An essential contribution to the debate about inequality, The Great Leveler provides important new insights about why inequality is so persistent and why it is unlikely to decline anytime soon. Review Shortlisted for the 2017 Cundill History Prize, McGill UniversityShortlisted for the 2017 Financial Times and McKinsey Business Book of the Year Awardstrategybusiness Best Business Book of 2017 in EconomicsOne of The New York Times Deal Book “Business Books Worth Reading” 2017 (chosen by Andrew Sorkin)One of The Wall Street Journal’s What Business Leaders Read in 2017Selected for The HCSS Bookshelf (chosen by Stephan De Spiegeleire) 2017One of BBC History Magazine’s Books of the Year 2017One of the Microsoft Best Business Books of 2017One of Project Syndicate’s Best Reads in 2017 (chosen by Dambisa Moyo)One of the Economist “2017 Books of the Year” in Economics and BusinessOne of Financial Times (FT ) Best Books of 2017: Economics, chosen by Martin WolfOne of The Wall Street Journal’s What Business Leaders Read in 2017, chosen by Mohamed A. El-ErianOne of the CNBC 13 Best Business Books of 2017One of World’s 2017 Books of the Year in “Understanding the World”Medium ’s Books of the Year 2017, chosen by Mark Koyama Review “A superb book.” Steven Pinker, Times Literary Supplement“Walter Scheidel’s The Great Leveler is a smartly argued book…. For anybody who has ever debated issues related to inequality and their broader meaning, this book provides more than just a powerful thought experiment.” Andrew Ross Sorkin, New York Times“Mr Scheidel’s evidence is so persuasive that readers will find themselves cheering on the Black Death as a boost to median wages.” Janan Ganesh, Financial Times“Sweeping and provocative.” New Yorker“A readable and quirky history of economic inequality from the great apes to the modern day…. It is well worth the read. It is, in a word, gripping.” Victoria Bateman, Times Higher Education“The Great Leveler should set off loud alarm bells…. The range of evidence is breathtaking.” Timur Kuran, Foreign Affairs From the Back Cover If you think youve heard it all about economic inequality, think again. Walter Scheidels analysis of what really reduces inequality is provocative, but he makes the case with reason, evidence, and style.--Steven Pinker, author of The Better Angels of Our Nature: Why Violence Has DeclinedBrilliant, erudite, and chock-full of historical detail, The Great Leveler has a powerful message and asks a big question for the twenty-first century: Can we find a cure for inequality that isnt worse than the disease?--Branko Milanovic, author of Global Inequality: A New Approach for the Age of GlobalizationThis is the best book on the history of income inequality. And the central message is that most significant reductions in inequality come through violence and destruction. Have a nice day!--Tyler Cowen, author of The Complacent Class: The Self-Defeating Quest for the American DreamThis brilliant and thoroughly researched book solves a major paradox in the study of historical inequality. If we accept Thomas Piketty